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My BFF, Anne-Stuart turned 34 this weekend so we celebrated at several breweries around Raleigh.

Friday: Keith, Anne-Stuart and I headed to Daily Pint for drinks after work. I pass it all the time on the way home from work and I have been wanting to try it. It was a nice day and we even brought Hamilton.

Saturday: My sister started a vinyl company, I helped come up with the name - Dogwood Vinyl. I helped her setup shop at a little market Saturday for her to make her debut and sell some fun goodies. Later, we started the birthday shenanigans and headed to Lynwood Brewing Concern, first brewery on the tour. Then we went to Neuse River Brewery which is right next door to Nicklepoint Brewery. I had never been to any of these breweries so it was cool to taste and visit the different ones.

Sunday: Anne-Stuart checked out a few new grocery stores that we had heard about but never been - Sprouts and Lidl. I am a HUGE fan of Sprouts and will make it a point to visit more often.

When life hands you grapes you make wine. We originally planned to be in Turks & Caicos, but we had a terrible category 5 hurricane, Irma who caused so much damage to the island as well as many other islands in the Caribbean.

Saturday: We decided to make the most of it and head to some wineries in Virginia, and we had a blast. Keith and I most recently started to enjoy wine and venture out trying new wines, so we headed up to VA to try out a few. The wineries we tried were: Villa Appalachia Winery, Chateau Morrisette Winery, and Whitebarrel Winery. Our favorite was Chateau Morrisette Winery where we purchased a nice red wine - The Black Dog.

Sunday: We picked up Hamilton and put him in a new jersey t-shirt to cheer on the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, they didn't win, but Hamilton is still the cutest fan!

Keith and I have had a tough past year but having a strong foundation has helped tremendously. I am so glad I have him to help balance me out and see the positive side when I can only think negatively. Before his dad passed away in April, I asked him if we could plan a trip later in the fall to truly relax and forget about work, responsibility and be just the two of us - he hesitated but said YES! We had so much fun on our honeymoon in Antigua, I wanted to travel to another tropical resort (all inclusive again) but somewhere neither of us had been. So, we picked Turks & Caicos and I can not wait till we arrive. We are only going for 5 days but it will be much needed!

Thursday night, my sister, her fiance and Keith and I headed to Durham to watch the Durham Bulls vs Gwinnett Braves. The weather just started to cool down so it was the perfect weather to be outside have some hotdogs, drink some beers and cheer for the local team. They ended up winning 3-2!

On Monday, August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse, frequently referred to as the "Great American Eclipse", was visible within a band across the entire contiguous United States passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts.This was rare because it was visible across the entire USA which hasn't happened in 100 years.

Below is a map you can see where it was full darkness and where other areas (like Raleigh) were only partial.

My husband and I are very different when it comes to what to plan for the weekend. He could stay at home every weekend and I would get cabin fever and need to go somewhere. Since, it was his birthday weekend - whatever he wanted to do - we did!

Friday: He loves wings, so we went to the best place to eat wings and have a beer - Kings in North Hills. It was a fun date night and a pretty night to be out and about.

Saturday: We had to drop off my car to get some electrical work done, and had a lazy morning. My sister and I did some errands while he watched TV and played with Hamilton. He grabbed drinks and watched football with friends - Josh & David.

He fell asleep on my lap
Hamilton likes MILK Sunday: We had to get my car inspected, so we dropped off my car and walked over to a local bar and had bloody mary's. Another day spent spoiling Hamilton and we loved EVERY minute of it.